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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"I didn't know if I was afraid I'd somehow ruin hum or afraid of losing myself and knowing I would never be able to understand enough to give him what he deserved."
i was definitely not expecting to read about someone in the spectrum like this and man this book was sexyyyy, a really good read, interesting pace, different setting and approach to a neurodivergent character compared to other things i've read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking
I’ll start by saying I loved this book but...
Yeah... I loved it but... like the only other Adrienne Wilder book I’ve read, WILD, (see my review here) I had similar problems with In the Absence of Light.
Once again, Wilder gives us:
A great premise.
Good bones.
A fun setting that provided a lot of humor and amusing situations.
Interesting and compelling MCs, particularly Morgan.
Strong emotional pull. It moved me to tears a few times.
The sexual chemistry was hot. Smokin hot!
An immersive, compelling story.
But I, once again, found parts problematic:
The sex scene with the hand cuffs felt rapey to me. Ultimately Grant enjoyed himself but he did not consent to the cuffs AND says “All right, let me up” and “Morgan this isn’t funny anymore.” I felt super uncomfortable and found it upsetting. I don’t care how into it I am, if I start resisting and/or objecting, my partner better stop. Immediately. Especially if I am restrained and cannot physically resist! And then they need to be sure I’m all in before continuing. This was not the only incident where Morgan comes off as invasive and creepy. Several times before he and Grant are together, he gropes Grant and rubs up on him in public spaces. It seems to be trying to suggest that Morgan is empowered and sexually liberated but I think it sends a bad message that he doesn’t respect other’s boundaries or feel the need for consent. I’ve had both these things happen to me and it’s a BAD feeling.
It felt like there was too much going on. The Dillon subplot was disturbing and upsetting but I appreciated it and felt it added the right amount of conflict and additional depth to Morgan’s psychological state and character. The FBI subplot, on the other hand, felt overdone. I didn’t mind it as much as some reviewers did but it did feel tedious and for me, it distracted more from the story than enhanced it. That said, I did like what Grant’s relationship with Jeff added to the story’s conflicts and developments and I’m looking forward to Jeff’s story.
Finally, this story is riddled with typos, words out of place/order, grammatical errors, etc. Example: Jeff moved down the isle of Pews. They’re in a church so I guess it was meant to be Jeff moved down the aisle of pews. Generally, I don’t mind a few typos but there were A LOT in this book. It was distracting.
Still, I LOVED Morgan and I LOVED this story in spite of the typos and overblown plot elements, and for that alone, I’m tempted to give In the Absence of Light 5 stars. The reason I’m refraining from rating comes down to that fact that I don’t know enough about autism to feel comfortable giving the rep a 5 star endorsement.
Thanks to everyone in my TL that rated and reviewed this book! It made me smile. It made me laugh. It made me happy. Its been a most welcome and refreshing bit of sunshine and colorful light on some cloudy and difficult days.
Yeah... I loved it but... like the only other Adrienne Wilder book I’ve read, WILD, (see my review here) I had similar problems with In the Absence of Light.
Once again, Wilder gives us:
A great premise.
Good bones.
A fun setting that provided a lot of humor and amusing situations.
Interesting and compelling MCs, particularly Morgan.
Strong emotional pull. It moved me to tears a few times.
The sexual chemistry was hot. Smokin hot!
An immersive, compelling story.
But I, once again, found parts problematic:
The sex scene with the hand cuffs felt rapey to me. Ultimately Grant enjoyed himself but he did not consent to the cuffs AND says “All right, let me up” and “Morgan this isn’t funny anymore.” I felt super uncomfortable and found it upsetting. I don’t care how into it I am, if I start resisting and/or objecting, my partner better stop. Immediately. Especially if I am restrained and cannot physically resist! And then they need to be sure I’m all in before continuing. This was not the only incident where Morgan comes off as invasive and creepy. Several times before he and Grant are together, he gropes Grant and rubs up on him in public spaces. It seems to be trying to suggest that Morgan is empowered and sexually liberated but I think it sends a bad message that he doesn’t respect other’s boundaries or feel the need for consent. I’ve had both these things happen to me and it’s a BAD feeling.
It felt like there was too much going on. The Dillon subplot was disturbing and upsetting but I appreciated it and felt it added the right amount of conflict and additional depth to Morgan’s psychological state and character. The FBI subplot, on the other hand, felt overdone. I didn’t mind it as much as some reviewers did but it did feel tedious and for me, it distracted more from the story than enhanced it. That said, I did like what Grant’s relationship with Jeff added to the story’s conflicts and developments and I’m looking forward to Jeff’s story.
Finally, this story is riddled with typos, words out of place/order, grammatical errors, etc. Example: Jeff moved down the isle of Pews. They’re in a church so I guess it was meant to be Jeff moved down the aisle of pews. Generally, I don’t mind a few typos but there were A LOT in this book. It was distracting.
Still, I LOVED Morgan and I LOVED this story in spite of the typos and overblown plot elements, and for that alone, I’m tempted to give In the Absence of Light 5 stars. The reason I’m refraining from rating comes down to that fact that I don’t know enough about autism to feel comfortable giving the rep a 5 star endorsement.
Thanks to everyone in my TL that rated and reviewed this book! It made me smile. It made me laugh. It made me happy. Its been a most welcome and refreshing bit of sunshine and colorful light on some cloudy and difficult days.
This book was everything. This was my first book by Adrienne, and she has definitely made me a forever fan. Loved everything about how she tackled autism and did not shy away from the characters reactions. I loved, loved Morgan!! He was so beautifully perfect in every way and did not apologize for his behaviors. It was so refreshing how honest he was and how he brought that out in Grant. Grant was very sweet to Morgan and together they were the whole package. I have not looked ahead to see any of Adrienne’s other books, but I have to hope perhaps she has a story out there for Jeff, as he turned out to be a good character and friend/ally in the end. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a beautiful read about two MC’s who have pasts to overcome and a future to build.
fast-paced
Morgan was not nice or kind to Grant: he barely said anything positive or nice to him, instead he berated, belittled and humiliated him repeatedly. It read like an abusive relationship to me, at first
Some intimate scenes also read like dub con.
DNF, with so many nice reviews I thought this would be amazing, but oh well.
Some intimate scenes also read like dub con.
DNF, with so many nice reviews I thought this would be amazing, but oh well.
This was the first book I read of Adrienne Wilder's and it is still one of my favorites. The characters are so vivid and the storyline is so beyond the standard romance.
Didn’t expect to like it as much as I did!
I was super skeptical going into this read. But I was pleasantly surprised and couldn’t put it down. I had a really hard time visualizing the art Morgan created but imo it wasn’t integral to understanding the story. Highly recommend this read.
I was super skeptical going into this read. But I was pleasantly surprised and couldn’t put it down. I had a really hard time visualizing the art Morgan created but imo it wasn’t integral to understanding the story. Highly recommend this read.
Usually when life gets in the way of me reading a book and I have to take long breaks from it, I forget a few details and struggle to get back in the story. Life got in the way of me reading this but I never forgot a single thing and picking up where I left off was easy. Like riding a bike, or Morgan riding a bike but not like driving, tying shoes or knowing left from right.
This was a beautiful story. Morgan is easy to fall for the minute you meet him and when he thanks Grant for the cock block, you know this guy will be special. Special does not cover who Morgan is at all. He is extraordinary and had the most beautiful dirty mouth not to mention, the boy is bendy. Like SUPER bendy and yeah, that bit of information and a certain scene is locked in my memory for research.
Grant... oh you beautiful man, you. I adored Grant. His reasons for moving to the small town weren't the best but I loved this story. I will say when Jeff first shows up and we get the whole FBI deal, I wanted it to go away but when I took a break from reading, I realized we needed it. We needed to SEE the man Grant was and now is and how far he will go for Morgan. We needed to SEE and not be TOLD that Grant will go that extra mile, he will make mistakes as he learns Morgans way and falls in love with the gorgeous man who can see and hear light. We needed to SEE it and while it seems a bit off with the story, it was Grant's story and I liked the way it played out. Because we SAW it.
The towns people of Durstrand are the best side characters who make me laugh with their requests for autographs and cows who like drive in movies. They were great with their interest and approval of Grant and Morgan, which made their romance that much sweeter. And it was, it was sweet, romantic, heartbreaking, fuckhot and just lovely.
It was hard, I admit, to see how this relationship could work when I read the blurb but Morgan was well written and as the highlights on the book and others' reviews have said, Morgan is a normal man with a mental condition, not a mental condition who is a man and once you get that, and you get it early on, you can easily see these two falling in love and how it will all work. Goodness. I really loved this book. I loved every bit of it and it warmed my heart in so many ways.
I loved that Morgan was Autistic and the edge it gave him. I loved that he saw Grant like no one else had and gave him small moments that he gave to no one else. I loved how he focused to create light, the mature way he handled himself and his life and I pity the fool who wants him to count toothpicks or ask about the weather. Morgan was a delightful, charming, funny and pure character. He was a joy to read.
I will stop gushing now. That end was picture perfect and so very much Grant and Morgan and the set up of Jeff's book? Will we be getting that? I would love to see Jeff meet the father of the man he is giving a ride to. *whistles* Ooh Jeff, you deserve to fight for love and I am sure you will fight for it and dammit, I wanna watch it all since I did like you in this, even at the end, I liked you...
This was a beautiful story. Morgan is easy to fall for the minute you meet him and when he thanks Grant for the cock block, you know this guy will be special. Special does not cover who Morgan is at all. He is extraordinary and had the most beautiful dirty mouth not to mention, the boy is bendy. Like SUPER bendy and yeah, that bit of information and a certain scene is locked in my memory for research.
Grant... oh you beautiful man, you. I adored Grant. His reasons for moving to the small town weren't the best but I loved this story. I will say when Jeff first shows up and we get the whole FBI deal, I wanted it to go away but when I took a break from reading, I realized we needed it. We needed to SEE the man Grant was and now is and how far he will go for Morgan. We needed to SEE and not be TOLD that Grant will go that extra mile, he will make mistakes as he learns Morgans way and falls in love with the gorgeous man who can see and hear light. We needed to SEE it and while it seems a bit off with the story, it was Grant's story and I liked the way it played out. Because we SAW it.
The towns people of Durstrand are the best side characters who make me laugh with their requests for autographs and cows who like drive in movies. They were great with their interest and approval of Grant and Morgan, which made their romance that much sweeter. And it was, it was sweet, romantic, heartbreaking, fuckhot and just lovely.
It was hard, I admit, to see how this relationship could work when I read the blurb but Morgan was well written and as the highlights on the book and others' reviews have said, Morgan is a normal man with a mental condition, not a mental condition who is a man and once you get that, and you get it early on, you can easily see these two falling in love and how it will all work. Goodness. I really loved this book. I loved every bit of it and it warmed my heart in so many ways.
I loved that Morgan was Autistic and the edge it gave him. I loved that he saw Grant like no one else had and gave him small moments that he gave to no one else. I loved how he focused to create light, the mature way he handled himself and his life and I pity the fool who wants him to count toothpicks or ask about the weather. Morgan was a delightful, charming, funny and pure character. He was a joy to read.
I will stop gushing now. That end was picture perfect and so very much Grant and Morgan and the set up of Jeff's book? Will we be getting that? I would love to see Jeff meet the father of the man he is giving a ride to. *whistles* Ooh Jeff, you deserve to fight for love and I am sure you will fight for it and dammit, I wanna watch it all since I did like you in this, even at the end, I liked you...
Thank you Helen and Ashley for recommending this one. My first read of 2017 is a five-star oldie.
These guys. *crosses hands over heart*. Just...love 'em, gooey love 'em.
He left Jeff. A three year relationship they both left bruised and battered. I have such mixed feelings about Jeff. But I think the overriding one is pity.
Grant never intended, or even imagined, meeting Morgan.
Morgan is beyond special. He is strong and funny and caring. I'll let you discover Morgan for yourself because I don't have the words to describe this amazing character.
I'm a bit wrung out emotionally. I'll need a little fluff in my next book. But I'm so glad I read this and highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't already read it.
These guys. *crosses hands over heart*. Just...love 'em, gooey love 'em.
Grant ~ I thought I’d left Chicago to escape the business, get out while I could, enjoy life. Leave behind who I’d been, a criminal, a man I thought I’d loved, and go somewhere no one could possibly know me. No one would want to know me. I’d just be a stranger, a momentary pause in their way of life, then I could escape to nowhere, and I’d never have to risk anything again. I could live, grow old, die, safely in my cocoon of detachment. My heart safely guarded, my trust locked away where no one could touch it.
He left Jeff. A three year relationship they both left bruised and battered. I have such mixed feelings about Jeff. But I think the overriding one is pity.
Grant ~ I had a feeling Jeff had no plans to ever speak to me again. Not because he was angry, because he was afraid of bleeding to death.
Grant never intended, or even imagined, meeting Morgan.
Morgan is beyond special. He is strong and funny and caring. I'll let you discover Morgan for yourself because I don't have the words to describe this amazing character.
I'm a bit wrung out emotionally. I'll need a little fluff in my next book. But I'm so glad I read this and highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't already read it.